Golf ball vendor

Abstract

A coin-controlled, manually operable machine for vending several dozen golf balls at a time. The vending machine has a ball hopper and a ramp below the hopper defining a ball dispensing opening between them. A gate rotatably mounted at the opening, extends partially there across in its closed position to cause the balls to bridge the opening. When the double-stroke actuating lever is pulled forward and returned, the gate is swung or kicked into the mass of balls twice to break up the bridging of balls to release a sufficient excess of balls down the ramp to assure filling of a rotatable ball receiver-dumper cylinder extending across the bottom of the ramp. The actuating lever is maintained inoperative by a coin-releasable locking mechanism. The receiver-dumper cylinder has a keeper slot receiving a limiting lug.

I claim: 
     
       1. A golf ball vendor comprising: a. a ball hopper having an bottom pan;   b. a declining ramp extending below said hopper bottom pan in spaced relation thereto, said pan and ramp defining a ball dispensing opening there between;   c. a gate pivotably mounted below said hopper pan and above said discharge ramp at said opening rotatable between (1) a downwardly extending closed position wherein the lower edge of said gate is spaced more than the diameter of one ball and less than the diameter of two balls from said ramp to cause said balls in said hopper to bridge across said opening and (2) a release position into which said gate is swung toward the mass of balls in said hopper to break up the bridging of balls therein for releasing balls down said ramp;   d. ball receiver-dumper extending across the lower end of said declining ramp, said ball receiver being rotatable between a receiving position and a dumping position for receiving a predetermined number of balls from said ramp and dumping them; and   e. manually movable double stroke actuating means operatively linked to said ball receiver-dumper and said gate for (1) rotating said ball receiver-dumper from its receiving position to its dumping position for dumping balls therefrom and for rotating said gate from said closed position to said release position back to said closed position, by a single operating stroke of said actuating means, and (2) rotating said ball receiver-dumper from its dumping position back to its receiving position and said gate from its closed position to said release position and back to its closed position by a single return stroke of said actuating means.   
     
     
       2. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 1 wherein said manually movably double stroke actuating means is fixedly attached to said rotatable ball receiver-dumper, and where said vendor has linkage comprising a first arm rigidly mounted on said ball receiver-dumper, a second arm pinned at one end to first arm, a third arm pinned at one end to the other end of said second arm, and said third arm being fixedly attached at its other end to said pivotable gate, said first and second arm forming an obtuse angle therebetween when said ball receiver-dumper is in said receiving position and passing through a straight angular relation to a relfex angular relation when said ball receiver-dumper is rotated from its receiving position to its dumping position by a single stroke of said actuating arm causing said gate to pivot from its closed position to its release position and back to its closed position, on the return stroke of said double stroke actuating means said first and second arms changing from a reflex angular relation through a straight angular relation back to an obtuse angular relation when said ball receiver-dumper is rotated back from its dumping position to its ball receiving position causing said gate to again pivot from its closed position to its release position and back to its said closed position. 
     
     
       3. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 1 wherein said ball receiver-dumper has a curved surface thereon rotatable across the lower end of said ramp to block balls thereon as said ball receiver is rotated from its receiving position to its dumping position. 
     
     
       4. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 1 comprising a fixedly mounted limiting lug and wherein said ball receiverdumper has a keeper slot formed therein receiving said lug for limiting the rotation and lateral movement of said ball receiverdumper. 
     
     
       5. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 1 having a coin-releasable locking mechanism for preventing operation of said manually movable actuating means. 
     
     
       6. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 5 wherein said coin-releasable locking mechanism comprises: a. a slide bar mounted for rectilinear movement sequentially from a coin receiving position, to a locking position, to a coin dropping position, and return; said slide bar having (1) a coin pocket formed therein for receiving a coin of predetermined size through the top thereof, and (2) a notch formed in the upper edge of said slide bar providing a shoulder on said slide bar;   b. a stationary base member below said slide bar, said base member forming a bottom for said coin pocket and having an end;   c. a drop latch having a hook portion for dropping into said notich and engaging said shoulder when said slide bar is moved from said coin receiving position to said locking position in the absence of a coin in the coin pocket of said slide bar, when a coin of the predetermined size is present in said coin pocket as said slide bar is moved from said coin receiving position toward said locking position said coin engages said drop latch and prevents the hook portion thereof from dropping into said notch permitting said slide bar to move through said locking position to said coin releasing position; and   d. means linked to said manually movable actuating means for (1) sliding said slide bar from said coin receiving position to said locking position before said ball receiver-dumper reaches its ball dumping position when no coin is present in the coin pocket of said slide bar, and (2) sliding said slide bar beyond said locking position when a coin is present in said coin pocket to carry said coin pocket beyond the end of said stationary base member when the notch in said slide bar has cleared said drop latch so that said coin falls by gravity out of said coin pocket.   
     
     
       7. The golf ball vendor as specified in claim 5 wherein said coin-releasable locking mechanism comprises: a. a slide bar mounted for rectilinear movement sequentially from a coin receiving position, to a locking position, to a coin dropping position, and return; said slide bar having (1) a coin pocket formed therein for receiving a plurality of coins of predetermined size in edgewise stacked relation through the top thereof, and (2) a notch formed in the upper edge of said slide bar providing a shoulder on said slide bar;   a stationary member below said slide bar, said stationary member forming a bottom for said coin pocket and having an end;   c. a drop latch having a hook portion for dropping into said notch and engaging said shoulder when said slide bar is moved from said coin receiving position to said locking position in the absence of a selected number of edgewise stacked coins in the coin pocket of said slide bar, when a selected number of coins of the predetermined size are present in said coin pocket as said slide bar is moved from said coin receiving position toward said locking position the top coin in said coin pocket engages said drop latch and prevents the hook portion thereof from dropping into said notch permitting said slide bar to move through said locking position to said coin dropping position; and   d. means linked to said manually movable actuating means for (1) sliding said slide bar from said coin receiving position to said locking position before said ball receiver-dumper reaches its ball dumping position when the selected number of edgewise stacked coins is present in the coin pocket of said slide bar and (2) sliding said slide bar beyond said locking position to said coin releasing position when the selected number of edgewise stacked coins is present in said coin pocket to carry said coin pocket beyond the end of said stationary base member when the notch in said slide bar has cleared said drop latch so that said coins fall by gravity out of said coin pocket.